Thursday, 19 July 2012

The Masked AMHP Reaches 100!

I even made my own cake!

This is the Masked
AMHP’s 100th post!

When I created this
blog back in March 2009, I had no idea whether or not I would be able to
sustain writing it beyond a few months. Would I run out of things to write
about? Would I simply get bored? Would I
be able to keep to my initial remit, which was to inform and entertain?

Would anyone actually read the blog?

Well, I’ve now managed
to keep thinking of things to write about for over 3 years. And people do seem
to read, and even sometimes enjoy, the blog. When Blogger started to provide me
with statistics, back in July 2009, I was gratified to discover that around
1400 people were accessing the blog every month. That was nearly 50 people
every day! I am now getting around 10,000 page views a month, and the
readership seems to be continuing to grow month on month.

One of the things I
love about blogging is the feedback you receive from readers. I’ve had many interesting,
thought provoking and encouraging comments, from professionals, other bloggers
and, importantly, from many service users. These comments have helped me to
think that writing the blog has been worthwhile, and even useful to others. I’d
particularly like to mention CB here, who used to write the awesome FightingMonsters blog. Not only was she my first Follower, but her early comments
encouraged me to continue.

By the way, I find the
negative and argumentative comments on the blog just as stimulating in their
own way. I have even used some as a springboard for discussing significant
issues. (Hello, Monica!)

(And I’ve even had a
comment from someone who could only be Richard Jones himself, the author of the
Mental Health Act Manual, the Bible of AMHP’s everywhere. It’s like suddenly
discovering that God himself is actually listening to you as you say your
prayers at bedtime. And has something to say about it.)

I was very flattered
when Guardian Select took an interest in the blog and included it in their
directory, and in the last year I have had a number of pieces published in the
Guardian’s Social Care Network.

About a year ago I set
up the Masked AMHP’s Facebook group. I had no idea what, if anything would come
from it. Over that time, the group has evolved into an open forum for
discussion about a wide range of issues relating to mental health. The
membership is gratifyingly cosmopolitan and eclectic, ranging from AMHP’s and
trainee AMHP’s through to bloggers, academics and importantly, service users.
We even have a police officer and a chaplain!

The group has developed into a unique
opportunity for people from all sides to come together and discuss how mental
health, and the Mental Health Act, impacts on their personal and professional lives.
At the last count, there were 325 members. So why not join? (Shameless Plug.)

So what is next for
the Masked AMHP? Should I write a book, and if so, what about? (I’ve been
thinking hard about this.) Do readers have any preferences for the types of
posts I write, or have suggestions for future posts? Should I start Tweeting? I’d
be delighted to hear from you.

In the meantime, I’ll
have to see whether I have the inspiration, or the energy, to write another
hundred posts. After all, I’m getting pretty ancient by now.

15 comments:

How about a book or more posts that go like this: you were a nice person who wanted to help your fellow human beings and, to be honest, to find employment for yourself. You naively thought that a career in the mental health system was a good idea but eventually came to realize how corrupted the system really is. Insert antipsychiatric theory and anonymous examples from your experience. For instance, talk about the way psychiatry is a social control mechanism, which it always was, except that nowadays, its scope extends to just about every aspect of life including short temper and unpleasant character, moodiness, grief, crime and social deviance, suitability for employment and other purposes (usually from a risk management perspective, not to ensure happiness), and so on. Criticize the way harmful drugs became the nearly universal "treatment". Explain that criminals belong in prison (or otherwise under the control of the criminal justice system) but psychiatry should not be used to imprison potentially dangerous or suicidal people who did not break the law, or to excuse criminal acts. Criticize the very notion of forced treatment or commitment, which often includes dragging people out of their own homes. You may want to criticize other things, too, such as ECT. Provide insider advice to people who want to avoid commitment or otherwise get the mental health "professionals" off their back. Conclude by saying that you are very disappointed and no longer think that mental health is a legitimate medical specialty, and how you wish the whole system will end up on the ash heap of history, although some kind of help such as totally voluntary counseling about some specific problems, social services (to help find housing and employment, and so on), mediation services, nutritional-based (including vitamin) therapy and so on, could, and probably should, have a future.

Hmm - I have to make a comment here that may be unpopular as a service user and a SW student I find that at times your blog may step over the line of confidentiality. Its not that its not an excellent, informative and entertaining blog - it is. And I had read from the beginning and in some ways it inspired my own journey into SW. But even if the characters you talk about are collective some of the details I think about for example the lady who urinated during an assesment are surely specific - too specific that if one of your Service users stumbled here then they might identify themselves and be mortified. Its not that I'm trying to go down the codes of practice and how GSCC might view it or have viewed it - it just makes me a little uncomfortable and how would this be got around for a book. Perhaps you intend on writing more generally about the amhp role for a book however I think it is the personal stories which draw people here but perhaps these which are risky and unprofessioanl to discuss in print- perhaps why there aren't such books available( as far as I know-but could be wrong?). I dont mean this as a criticism but it would interesting to have your view on this and perhaps my view is slightly different being on both sides of the fence.

But confidentiality simply means that other people should not be able to find out the actual identity of the people in question. It does not mean that facts should bear no resemblance to any incident that ever happened in case some people who were involved in similar situations may think they recognize themselves.

Surely the point is realising you are in a priveleged and responsible position where you see people at their most vulnerable and therefore respecting the need to keep things within the space of an assesment. Monica would you be happy to be written about? I wouldn't be. though i understand the alternative view that talking about these things can reduce stigma and is damn interesting.

If somebody wrote about a person just like myself and nobody would be able to infer my real identity, and perhaps I would not even know myself whether the writing is about me or not, then yes, of course, I would be perfectly all right with that. It may have happened when I was a student and a comment I made in class was published in the student newspaper as coming from "an anonymous student". One cannot control things like that or be obsessed about possibly being the real source of a comment or subject of a story about fictitious or anonymous characters. For all I know, more students may have made exactly the same comment. Similarly, psychiatric stories resembling those described here may have happened to other people somewhere else. If you can't find out those people's real names, then anonymity is preserved.

Hi masked AMHP as a trainee AMHP I would like to thank you for your blogs and Facebook forum. I feel that your blogs are like tutorials and reading other peoples feedback helps to consolidate and make cetain aspects of legislation come to life. A suggestion for a future post that I would appreciate is examples of using the MCA instead of the MHA. I may be asking for something which is out of date but I need to get my head around it especially as there appears to be a growing number of judgements which continue to contradict previous rulings.

What's good about your blog is that you develop ideas at length and reflect on things in a balanced manner.

Tweeting would be the antithesis of this.

I'm a member of your Facebook group and while in general it's thought provoking, some of the shorter, carelessly spelled, txt-spk inflected entries are a little toe curling, are evidently reactive and would have benefitted from a process of editing and selection.

I suppose I'm what could be described as a lurker on your blog. I keep having a look at your posts but I haven't (until now) commented on them. Sometimes I agree with what you say and sometimes I don't, but do keep blogging. It's good to reflect upon and discuss these interesting and important issues.

Blimey, what a lot of problems I had getting my post on to your blog! I kept trying to sign in with my wordpress account and it said this couldn't be verified. Then it scared me by saying my user name was 'illegal' or something to that effect. What?? I've had no problem before with my (fairly new) wordpress account. I gave up on the wordpress and tried signing in with my old blogger account which I no longer use. This was okay. I had to prove I wasn't a robot (erm, no I don't think I am) and then it let me on.

I'm fascinated with Monica's views, it makes me step further out of my practice and have a damn good look in. The exchange of views Masked AMHP and Monica is very stimulating and the mark of a healthy and live debate on all MH issues. The book should be the two of you debating, I'd hate to say collaborating.

Subscribe!

Join!

Why not join? With over 2200 members, it's a large but nevertheless friendly and supportive group. AMHP's, AMHP trainees, social work and nursing students, service users, carers and relatives, and others with a professional or personal interest in mental health, such as psychiatrists, nurses, psychologists, police officers and bloggers, all get on together (most of the time!). It's a great place to pose a question or discuss thorny issues relating to the Mental Health Act, the Mental Capacity Act and mental health in general.

Follow the Masked AMHP on Twitter!

The Masked AMHP can now be followed on Twitter: @MaskedAMHP You know you want to.

Explanation of Terms used in this Blog

About Me

I am an Approved Mental Health Professional working in a semi-rural area in England. I have practised under 3 Mental Health Acts, since as long ago as 1981, even before the 1983 Mental Health Act. Which makes me pretty ancient now.
This blog is designed to illuminate and explain the functions and dlimemmas of an AMHP within the Mental Health Act. It is intended to be of help to professionals and service users alike. I hope that it is both informative and entertaining.
I am also a freelance trainer, and a part time tutor on an AMHP course. I've appeared at conferences all over England and Wales. If you'd like to book me for your conference or training event just send me an email.